An index of prominent figures in the early anime fandom?

[Fireminer]

Does anyone here know anything about the critic Mark Schilling, who wrote the 1997 book "The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture"?

[Fireminer]

Derek Wakefield

Derek Wakefield has passed away?

[davemerrill]

Derek passed away in 2014. He had a raft of health issues, including problems with his liver, his heart, and his kidneys.

[davemerrill]

Also he was suffering from diabetes - had to go back through some emails and check. There's a Facebook memorial page here: https://www.facebook.com/Derek-Wakefiel ... 062650279/

[Fireminer]

While I was researching about Kevin Seymour of U.S. Renedition, I came across two other names: Robert Napton and Chad Kime. I knew that Robert Napton is now the Senior Vice President of Legendary Comics, but I can't find any information on Chad Kime. Does anyone here know anything about the two of them?

[SteveH]

Off memory, Chad Kime went to work for Pioneer Laser Disc Co. which evolved into Geneon. He also had connection with Anime Expo in the mid 2000s.

[mbanu]

Good interview on his time at Geneon over on the Anime News Network: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/anncast/2009-12-03

[Fireminer]

Does anyone here know where is animator Steve Bennett (who worked at Urusei Yatsura, and later founded Studio Ironcat) now? He has a Facebook page which says he works for MCCS Marketing Iwakuni (I have no idea that the Marine Corps Community Services need a dedicated marketing firm), but I have no idea how up to date that information is?

Also, do you guys remember anything about the drama at Studio Ironcat back in the day?

[davemerrill]

Steve Bennett is still around, he's living in Washington State now and attends the occasional convention. His wife is, or was, a civilian contractor for the Marine Corps and she was assigned to Iwakuni for a few years, but that contract ended.

What exactly happened with Ironcat is a fascinating story, I don't know all the details myself. What I do know is that they released a lot of translated manga of varying degrees of quality that sold to varying degrees, that one of their founders absconded with much of the company's money, that they released one print volume of the popular webcomic "Megatokyo" that sold very well but wasn't enough to keep the company afloat, and that numerous employees reported lack of pay and harassment issues while working at the company. There's a pretty good rundown here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Ironcat

[Fireminer]

Anyone here know what is the deal with John O'Donnel of Central Park Media? Is it true that he helped Sony to win their first Grammy? And what has he been doing after CPM went bankrupt?